My instincts were telling me that Esther needed my help. I just wanted to hold her hand and comfort her. That's all I did. At least that's what I thought I did. Judging from the look on Elizabeth's face and Esther now being able to talk to me like a normal person, that's not all I did.
"What's your name?", Esther asked me with a kind smile.
"I'm Audrey and this is my friend, Elizabeth."
Esther looked at Elizabeth and gave her a smile.
"Audrey...what did you do? How did you make her better?", Elizabeth asked me with a shaky voice.
"What do you mean? I just hugged her."
"That's not all you did, Audrey. Powerful seers can lessen the burden of another seer. You do this by blocking some of the visions a troubled seer receives from the Moon Godess."
"Does this mean I interfered with your gift?", I asked Esther with a panick-filled voice.
Esther chuckled.
"No, only the Moon Godess can interfere with my gift. It just means you're able to lessen the burdens that visions may cause. That's all."
We were all quiet while Esther kept running her fingers through Ishmael's hair.
"Can you tell us what you saw? You said some really scary things", Elizabeth said.
Esther looked at us nervously and then looked at Ishmael.
"Baby, why don't you go with Caroline? Mommy will be with you soon." Caroline picked up Ishmael and the two of them left the room.
"You two should know something first. The Moon Godess doesn't want werewolves to live as isolated as we have since the witches attacked the Werewolf King and Queen. If Alpha Gideon hadn't closed our borders to other magical creatures 15 years ago, there would have been more seers in this pack. Audrey, you would have met your mate sooner."
"Five years ago, when I got visions of the witches' attack, I got visions that were meant for me and 6 other seers. I had to carry the burden of all those visions. If I didn't, the witches would have ended our pack."
Elizabeth and I were looking at her with shocked faced.
" I was barely able to survive all those visions. When Ishmael's father and our luna passed away, it was the final blow for me. My wolf sensed that I was about to die and she retreated the two of us into the deepest depths of my mind. She didn't know that we wouldn't be able to get back on our own."
Esther then turned to look at Audrey and held her hand.
"Audrey, only a pure seer can do what you did.You may have thought that you were just comforting me, but you were doing so much more. You were drawing on the strength of all your ancestors to draw me and my wolf out of my mind." Esther was tearing up.
"Now here comes the bad news. I do not remember the visions I got while I was retreating with my wolf. I may get those visions again or maybe even remember them, but chances are the Moon Godess wants another seer to get those visions. I'm sorry."
"Dammit!, I muttered to myself.
"Maybe you can still help me to learn how to use my gift. Maybe then the Moon Godess will send me visions and I can help my friend." My voice was filled with desperation.
Esther smiled. "Of course I can help you. It's the least I can do."
Elizabeth looked really disappointed.
"I'm going to let the two of you catch up on seer things. I'll go check on Ishmael." She then left the room.
I started thinking about Elder Anaia's vision. If her visions were connected to any of the visions Esther remembers then maybe we would be able to decipher her vision.
"Esther, do you know anything about the Sun Godess?"
"The Sun Godess...mmmm...there aren't a lot of texts that talk about the Sun Godess. She is quite ancient. Some even think her existence is a myth."
Hearing Esther say that filled me with hope.
"What do you know about her?"
"Not much. I only remember a little of what I read in an ancient text when I was training how to use my gift. It is said that the Moon Godess and Sun Godess are sisters. But apparently the Sun Godess is much more powerful. She is the source of all good magic. Without her, it is said all magical creatures would die."
"What else do you know about her?"
"I'm afraid that's all I remember. Like I said, most people believe she is a myth so I didn't read more about her."
I sat quietly for a second.
"Do you still have the ancient text?", I asked Esther.
"No, I'm afraid I don't even remember where I got it from. I'm sorry. I can see this means a lot to you."
"That's okay, Esther. You've done more than enough." I squeezed her hand.
Esther stood up and started spinning around in the room while laughing.
"It's so good to be back. I've been stuck in that chair for 5 years. I thought I'd never see my little boy grow up. I've gotten another chance to be a mom!"
I smiled at her.
"I think we're going to be good friends, Esther."
Esther grabbed my hands and started spinning me around in the room. "I will teach you everything I know, Audrey. I will train you the way I was trained. You will use your gift for good!"
Esther and I were spinning around in the room and giggling.
*********************************************
Mathew's POV
The moment Elizabeth saw me, she
did all she could to get out of the kitchen. I knew she was avoiding me and she had every reason to.
I didn't mean any of those terrible things I said to her. I was just so angry that she would agree to sleep on Mike's floor. Does she like him? Has she replaced me already? I've only been gone a few days and when we finally find each other, she has some guy following her around. Why would she do that to me?
I just needed a chance to tell her I'm so sorry for saying all those things. I needed to tell her I didn't blame her for any of the terrible things that have happened to me. I didn't care about all those things. I just cared about her. That's why I couldn't stay away from her even when she tried ending our friendship. I felt like I was going to go crazy during those weeks.
Orion was roaring and clawing inside my head last night. He wanted to kill me while I said those things. The only way I was able to stop myself from running after Elizabeth was by digging my claws in my hand. Orion almost shifted right in the room.
"What happened between you guys?", Jonathan asked after Elizabeth ran out of the kitchen with Audrey.
"What happened is I'm an idiot and I need to apologise to her for saying things I didn't mean", I slumped down in the chair next to him.
"I thought you and Elizabeth were friends, but I'm starting to think you're mates" He was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that? What are mates?"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"I'm talking about fated mates! The Moon godess given mate. Surely you've heard about that?", he asked me teasingly.
"Oh yea, I've read about that. Uhm, no she isn't my mate. My wolf would have told me that she's my mate, right?"
"Yea, he would have practically screamed it to you", Jonathan said.
"Well, she isn't my mate. She's my best friend and I don't like some random guy trying to take advantage of her."
Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you talking about Mike? Mike would never do that. He is waiting for his fated mate and won't settle for any one else. I promise you that."
Hearing Jonathan say that made me nervous. What if Mike is Elizabeth's mate? I know I should be happy for her, but the idea of her being with another guy infuriated me.
"So he's her fated mate?", I asked Jonathan with a low growl.
Jonathan laughed. "No, he would have been shouting it at the top of a mountain if she was his mate. Heck, they would have been mating right this very second."
I growled when I heard him talk about Elizabeth and Mike mating. The idea of that happening made my blood boil. Elizabeth is still a virgin. She's awkward around guys when they start showing interest in her and she prefers spending her time alone or with me. Her being this close with Mike just didn't make any sense.
"You need to calm down, Mathew", Jonathan said as he raised his hands. "Elizabeth is going through a lot and I think Mike is just trying to help her."
I slammed my hand against the table. "What if Mike has decided he doesn't want to wait for his mate anymore? What if he wants Elizabeth to be his girlfriend?", I spat out.
This time Jonathan almost choked on his coffee.
"Mike would rather die alone than take a chosen mate. I'm telling you, he's not that type of guy. He's also not the type to have girlfriends. He and I have always wanted to wait for our fated mates. I waited for my mate without having any girlfriends, and he is doing the same."
I have a deep sigh of relief.
"Do you mind telling me what's going on with her eyes. I mean, I love the gold flames, but where did it come from?"
Jonathan shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as ours, Mathew. She passed out after burning half of my dad's meeting room down. When she woke up, her eyes looked like that."
"What?", I said as I shouted at Jonathan. "Wait, what do you mean she burned down your dad's meeting room? How?"
"Her body started heating up", Jonathan said while throwing his hands in the air. "She got so hot that everything around her started burning up. By the time her body had cooled down, half of the meeting room was burnt down."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Why wouldn't she tell me she's going through all this? I'm her best friend. She should be leaning on me right now. I should be helping her just like how she helped me after I found out I'm a werewolf. Why would she go to Mike when I could be here for her?
"Why the hell isn't she in a hospital right now? She clearly needs to be tested!", I said as I stood from my chair.
"Slow down, Mathew", Jonathan said. "She's already been tested. We still don't know what kind of magical creature she is. We're all trying to figure that out."
I let out a deep sigh. I was trying to process all this. I had just found out that my best friend wasn't human. She is some kind of magical creature and no one seems to know what she is. Instead of being there for her, I essentially called her a whore and blamed her for my life falling apart. I needed to go find her and be there for her. I wasn't going to let her go through all this alone.
"I need to go find her!" I started heading for the door.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Elizabeth was clearly avoiding you. Maybe you should give her some space and talk to her later?", Jonathan said as he followed me.
I sighed. "Your'e right. I need to give her some time", I said as I turned back. "But I don't want Mike going anywhere near her."
Jonathan raised his eye brow. "She's going through a lot. If she wants Mike to help her, I don't think it would be so bad."
I was struggling to accept this and I could tell that Orion also didn't like it. He and I both wanted to be the ones helping Elizabeth. We wanted to be the ones helping her figure out all of this. I didn't want Mike anywhere near her. I didn't care if he was waiting for his fated mate. I should be the only one who gets that close to her.
Jonathan noticed I was lost in my thoughts.
"That old guy you saved is still in the hospital", he said to me. "Maybe paying him a visit will help take your mind off of things."
"His name is Lucienne. And you're right. I should go see him. But I need to make sure I speak to Elizabeth as soon as possible", I said to him.
**
When Jonathan and I got to the hospital, we found Sebastian and Susan in Luciene's hospital room. Sebastian was holding his hands over Luciene and a light was emanating from them.
"Hey, you guys. I'm just trying to heal old Luciene here", Sebastian said as we entered the hospital room.
"I don't think I'm going to get used to seeing that Sebastian", I said with a chuckle.
"Susan, how are you feeling?", Jonathan asked.
"I'm good now that my mate is safe and sound." She stood up and wrapped her arms around Sebastian's back.
"The doctor says it'll take some time for him to get better. He has malnutrition, he's dehydrated and he has had a lot of dark magic performed on him. If he weren't a royal beta, he would have died a very long time ago. He's actually not out of the woods yet." Sebastian said as he sat down. He looked exhausted. Healing Luciene seemed to be draining his strength.
"It's really kind of you to keep healing him", I said to him.
"Well, we were all imprisoned together. I think it kind of makes us all a family, don't you think?"
"Yea, I agree with you about that", I said as I reached for Luciene's hand and squeezed it. "You need to wake up, old man."
I could sense that Orion was also worried about Luciene. He was pacing up and down in my head.
Raphael was my son. Well, he was my and Jeremiah's son. I suddenly heard Orion say.
I kept quiet.
Killing Raphael and our mate resulted in our own death. When I was reunited with the Moon Godess, I asked her not to reincarnate me unless Raphael ever threatened the natural order again. I never thought this day would come, Orion said.
Are you supposed to stop Raphael?, I asked Orion.
You and I must both stop Raphael, Mathew. He growled at me.
Or what, Orion? What will happen if we don't stop him? What will happen if I take Elizabeth and leave this ridiculous world?
Orion retreated back into my mind without answering me.
Dammit, Orion, I shouted at him. You need to give me answers. You can't just keep me in the dark!
He didn't say anything.
I gave up trying to get answers from him and turned my attention to the people in the room.
"So uhm, you guys aren't human?", I asked Sebastian and Susan.
"No", Sebastian said with a chuckle. "We're inklings. You may know us as fairies, but please do not call us that!"
"You didn't notice that we're not human?", Susan asked sounding concerned.
"No... I mean, I thought you guys smelled different from other people, but I didn't think anything of it"
"What does Elizabeth smell like to you?", Susan asked while looking at me curiously.
I shrugged my shoulders. "She smells normal."
They both looked disappointed after I said that.
"Does she smell like other humans?", Sebastian asked.
"No, she smells different. She smells like...well like warmth. Does that make sense?"
Susan and Sebastian looked at one another and smiled.
"Maybe you're smelling her powers", Sebastian said. "They seem to be connected to heat."
I nodded my head and slumped down in an open chair. "Well, now I know what werewolves, inklings, seers, witches and Elizabeth smell like. It's been an interesting couple of days."
Susan, Sebastian and Jonathan all nodded their heads.